We designed this guide to be responsive to school principals and teachers in charge of particular grades and subject areas who might have questions such as “What is ESD?”, “How should we promote ESD?” and “How is ESD connected with the educational activities that we are currently pursuing in the school and my own educational practices?”

ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) is, in a word, education aimed at developing people who can take on the responsibility of building a sustainable future by actively addressing the various global and local issues that threaten the existence of life and society for ourselves and future generations.

Based on a proposal from our own country, in 2002 the United Nations General Assembly adopted “The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD: 2005-2014).” Within Japan, in 2006, the Liaison Committee among ministries and agencies decided on an implementation plan, and in 2008, the Central Educational Council issued a report “Concerning the Reform of the course of study (Government Guidelines for Education) in kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, upper secondary schools, and special needs education schools” (January), and revised the Basic Educational Promotion Plan in Article 17 of the Fundamental Act of Education (July), to denote the necessity of ESD. The explanation of the new elementary school course of study touched upon educational content related to ESD in the areas of general rules, social studies, science, life skills, home economics, foreign language, moral education, and the integrated studies period, while the revised junior high school course of study did so in the areas of school rules, social studies, science, industrial arts/home economics, moral education, and the integrated studies period. These facts are a great reassurance when promoting ESD. Definitely refer to the explanations concerning ESD in the course of study.

It is true that teachers can handle the revision of each of the individual subject areas and spheres of learning, but children just have to accept the entire course of study with their small heads, hearts and bodies.

For the children, we must be duly conscious of the relationship and balance among the different academic subject areas and spheres of learning and of the comprehensiveness of the educational curriculum. At the elementary school level, it is relatively easy to adopt a point of view of organising the educational curriculum for the whole school. Nonetheless, at the junior high and upper secondary school levels, the walls between academic subjects are still high and, in many cases, it is difficult to see the school curriculum as a whole.

In ESD, the topics children learn about and the educational materials themselves should emphasise the connections and relationships across academic subject areas and spheres of learning. In addition, schools, parents and guardians, and the communities’ connections and relationships should be emphasised. During the process of revising each academic subject area and sphere of learning as well as revising the educational activities of one’s own school and class, wouldn’t it be good if the perspective of ESD and hints from ESD educational materials were incorporated?

ESD is not only about the children in front of you and future generations, but about how our generation of adults--teachers and parents and guardians—develop our connections and relationships.